Reviewing and updating school policies is one of those parts of the school board’s job that is not glamorous, or sometimes even fun, but it is necessary. The policy committee of the Callaway Board of Education has devoted hours to that task, said Superintendent JD Furrow, and at the board’s June 9 meeting some of those were approved on second reading and others on first reading.

“These were all of the policies that were missing out of our original policy book,” Furrow explained. “That was a huge undertaking.”

Keeping up with the ever-changing state rules and guidelines governing public schools can be a challenge, and Furrow said with this being his first year at CPS, it has been important to him to make sure everything is being done correctly. That is why he asked the Rule 10 review board to make an in-person visit to the school and conduct a walk-through.

“In the end, we had one thing that needed to be done that hadn’t been done, and that was to have the board approve the curriculums in all academic areas. The board adopting the state standards is our curriculum, so a few weeks ago we went through all of those to find any curriculum that the board had not approved,” Furrow explained. “Now, anytime there is an update to the standards, we can go through those and make sure we know everything we need to know. It ended up being a really good visit with them.”

School improvement was a topic of discussion by the board, and Furrow is excited that a water softening system is being added to the entire facility. “We have had lots of things damaged by the hard water buildup,” he said. Another project will involve adding epoxy to some of the floors, including in the kitchen, which will improve the durability and appearance of the building.

The board also heard details about a new radio system that will be implemented in the buses for the 2025-26 school year, which will provide better communication capabilities in areas that previously created dead spots. “These work off of the cell towers, so when the track team goes to Omaha for state, for example, they can still use those radios. So we will now have coverage all across the country.”

Unpaid lunch accounts have been discussed at past meetings, with the board researching options on how to handle the issue. State statute now forbids schools from taking parents to collections for unpaid lunch bills; however, Furrow said the district can file a suit against those who are delinquent.

“We do have a handful of significantly unpaid bills, so I will reach out to families to try to get a plan set up to get those taken care of. But now we have some leverage for those who still don’t pay,” he said.

Lunch prices for the 2025-26 school year were set at the June meeting, with the prices rising only 10 cents. “Our board has historically tried to keep those prices as low as possible for families, so we just raised the minimum,” said Furrow. “So breakfast and lunch is going up a dime, and juices and things went up five cents. We really serve a high-quality meal that is very good for a growing kid for $3.10; you can’t even pack a bologna sandwich lunch for that anymore.”

Callaway High School does have a policy concerning open campus at lunch for their senior students, and for the juniors during the second semester. Furrow said while they do have a few students who take advantage of that option, most choose to stay and eat at school.

The next meeting of the Callaway Board of Education will be July 14 at 8 p.m.